161
161
Jul 1, 2011
07/11
by
CSPAN2
tv
eye 161
favorite 0
quote 0
in pakistan. without there being any american commitment actually to be there to protect us against that retaliation if that occurred. those are pieces of history. so many times those of you have had me. >> know this is my little clicÉe but i'm going to repeat it anyway because sometimes clichÉs are good and that is americans do a lot of things very well. america is a great nation which has contributed immensely to human progress, the idea of liberty and the idea freedom and the idea of democracy modern capitalism and globalization and everything and then of course more than any other nation in at least a 200 years. there is one thing americans don't do. two things americans don't do well. one is history. the american attitude to history is you know joe, he is history. [laughter] bar or all history is bunk. that is the attitude. there was a young man who introduced himself as a history of -- and i said when i was teaching this country they rob him was finding enough kids who wanted a history maj
in pakistan. without there being any american commitment actually to be there to protect us against that retaliation if that occurred. those are pieces of history. so many times those of you have had me. >> know this is my little clicÉe but i'm going to repeat it anyway because sometimes clichÉs are good and that is americans do a lot of things very well. america is a great nation which has contributed immensely to human progress, the idea of liberty and the idea freedom and the idea of...
41
41
tv
eye 41
favorite 0
quote 0
yemen somalia parts of north africa and other locations i've always believed pakistan is more central to what have you noticed a change in the guard at the department of defense with robert gates retiring and former cia chief leon panetta getting sworn in signals this change of course to critics i see no difference between between him and robert gates and for afghanistan we now hear a presidential pledge to pull thirty three thousand troops out by september two thousand and twelve fully we're covering the surge i have now at west point well it certainly sounds like what the american people would like to hear for the first time ever a majority want u.s. troops out of afghanistan as soon as possible fifty six percent or thirty nine percent want troops there until the situation is stabilized you can see the trend is really flip flopped but what is the reality of obama's plans for troop withdrawal that thirty three thousand he's calling for is a minority of the one hundred thousand american troops that are there that's not including another forty two thousand some nato troops and ninety t
yemen somalia parts of north africa and other locations i've always believed pakistan is more central to what have you noticed a change in the guard at the department of defense with robert gates retiring and former cia chief leon panetta getting sworn in signals this change of course to critics i see no difference between between him and robert gates and for afghanistan we now hear a presidential pledge to pull thirty three thousand troops out by september two thousand and twelve fully we're...
107
107
Jul 1, 2011
07/11
by
CSPAN2
tv
eye 107
favorite 0
quote 0
>> sir, i believe the pakistanis know he is in pakistan. whether or not there is a -- >> let me ask you this. if they tried for about a week, do you think they could find him? >> sir, i can't answer that question. i don't know whether they could or not. because i don't know where he is. >> have we asked them to find him? >> sir, i believe they have. >> well, i'm asking. i think senator levin and i both ask together today. we are asking the pakistan government to help us find mullah omar who has tried to destroy afghanistan, who has formed an allegiance with al qaeda, and so along those lines general allen, are we certain that i.e.d.s being used against american troops in afghanistan and coalition working in general are coming out of pakistan? senator, i believe, yes, we are. >> smart. -- as a matter of fact, we have given pakistani information and buildings. is that not true? >> that's true. >> have they responded? >> no. >> i'm with chairman levin. this has got to stop. let's talk about corruption. have you read the article about the afgha
>> sir, i believe the pakistanis know he is in pakistan. whether or not there is a -- >> let me ask you this. if they tried for about a week, do you think they could find him? >> sir, i can't answer that question. i don't know whether they could or not. because i don't know where he is. >> have we asked them to find him? >> sir, i believe they have. >> well, i'm asking. i think senator levin and i both ask together today. we are asking the pakistan government...
159
159
Jul 1, 2011
07/11
by
CSPAN
tv
eye 159
favorite 0
quote 0
the critical commercial link between -- pakistan and afghanistan. it provides a route to the capital city of kabul for improved government, trade, health care, and education. i want to say a few words around the circumstances. as a picture shows, the topographical and geologically features of this area within the construction work has occurred are some of the most challenging we faced in afghanistan. the security environment has made this the most dangerous project our company has attempted. suffered 21 killed, 51 wounded and four missing. security as a percentage of the overall project cost was around 30%. to compare other parts, security costs average oftentimes 8-10% for overall project costs. one road alone experienced 147 direct attacks, and 40 mine and other ordnance explosions. the traditional metrics the government measures the efficacy of projects -- to not pay the full picture. and lack of existing infrastructure and technical capacity, and experience of afghan companies, the need for capacity building and -- measuring success just in scop
the critical commercial link between -- pakistan and afghanistan. it provides a route to the capital city of kabul for improved government, trade, health care, and education. i want to say a few words around the circumstances. as a picture shows, the topographical and geologically features of this area within the construction work has occurred are some of the most challenging we faced in afghanistan. the security environment has made this the most dangerous project our company has attempted....
172
172
Jul 1, 2011
07/11
by
CSPAN
tv
eye 172
favorite 0
quote 0
against taliban and the kind of structure that we need to support going after al qaeda on the border of pakistan and afghanistan. perhaps it is time to shut down $17 billion worth of money going for reconstruction projects when our track record really stings when it comes to reconstruction projects. i hope that you all will convince me that i have become cynical and angry and frustrated about the way we are spending money in theater. i am looking for good news, and i hope we hear some today. but i think it is time for a guest check because i have too many people in missouri saying why can we fix this road? then i look at the practice we are building in afghanistan and it is hard to explain to them why we cannot fix that road. because we cannot afford it, but yet we can throw money away in afghanistan on projects that are not sustainable. if anybody had spent time thinking about it in the first place, they would have realized that. that kind of accountability has to be present. i am pleased that we have a number of witnesses today that are going to testify to contracting in theater. let me say th
against taliban and the kind of structure that we need to support going after al qaeda on the border of pakistan and afghanistan. perhaps it is time to shut down $17 billion worth of money going for reconstruction projects when our track record really stings when it comes to reconstruction projects. i hope that you all will convince me that i have become cynical and angry and frustrated about the way we are spending money in theater. i am looking for good news, and i hope we hear some today....